Jaguars guard Uche Nwaneri won't pretend to rationalize the decision made early Saturday morning by Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent, who, according to police, chose to get behind the wheel and drive home in an impaired state.

The result was another NFL tragedy that could easily have been avoided.

All we know for certain is that Brent's good friend and practice-squad teammate, former Jacksonville Sharks player Jerry Brown, is dead for no other reason than driver stupidity. According to police, Brent had too much to drink, hit a curb and flipped his 2007 Mercedes in which Brown was a passenger.

Just like that, one life taken and another changed forever. Brent, released on $500,000 bond, is charged with intoxication manslaughter, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Brent will likely never play football again because teams are going to be wary of taking on that kind of baggage.

But the larger question, for Nwaneri and the rest of us, is why NFL players don't take better precautions when it comes to consuming alcohol? Many of them go out on Friday night during the season and drink. They might not know beforehand how much they'll partake, but it's imperative to formulate a designated-driver game plan. "I don't go out much anymore, but anytime I knew I was going to be drinking a lot, I had somebody who was going to drive," Nwaneri said. "It was usually a good friend of mine that would make sure when the night's over with, he drove us home. I just handed him the keys when I left.

"I never wanted to be in position where my family finds out the next day that I'm in jail and on ESPN. You just got to take yourself out of that situation by not being the driver."

Unfortunately, NFL players don't always take advantage of their own privileged life. They have plenty of money to afford a limo driver or have teammates/friends come get them if they need a ride.

Jaguars rookie receiver Justin Blackmon, charged with aggravated DUI in June, was incredibly lucky that nobody got hurt or killed when he foolishly drove with a blood alcohol level of .24 and .26, triple the legal limit in Oklahoma. He pleaded guilty and received a deferred sentence, avoiding jail time. It'll be weeks before tests come back on Brent's numbers.

Not that it matters because he must forever live with his friend's death.

"It's such a shame because it's a small number of people in our business who make bad decisions," Nwaneri said. "It just casts a stigma on everybody."

As Jaguars defensive end Austen Lane noted, one NFL player in legal trouble will get more publicity than 20 of them doing good deeds in the community. We will never know all the potential good Jerry Brown could have done with his life.

It was snuffed out because a friend with plenty of resources apparently wasn't smart enough to let a sober person drive them home.